How to Grow a Pumpkin

This article was co-authored by Andrew Carberry. Andrew Carberry has been working with school gardens and farm to school programs since 2008. He is now a Program Associate at Winrock International, where he works on the Community Based Food Systems Team.

There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

Pumpkins can be made into a sweet or savory dishes, their seeds are healthy and fun to roast, and they serve as beautiful, bright fall decorations. Growing pumpkins is easy and inexpensive, since they thrive in many different regions. Read on for information on choosing a variety of pumpkin to plant, finding an environment that will help your plants thrive, and as well as growing and harvesting your pumpkins.

Find out when to plant pumpkins in your region. Pumpkin seeds do not germinate in cold soil, so they need to be planted after the chance of frost has passed. Plan to plant pumpkins in late spring or early summer for a fall harvest. Pumpkins typically take 95 to 120 days to mature.

If you celebrate Halloween and would like to have pumpkins in time for the holiday, plant them in late July.

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Choose pumpkin seeds. Go to your local nursery or order seeds from a catalog to use in your pumpkin patch. There are many different varieties of pumpkins, but for the home grower's purposes they fall into three main categories:

Pie pumpkins, which are meant to be eaten.

Large decorative pumpkins that can be carved into jack o'lanterns. The seeds in these pumpkins are edible, but the flesh is not flavorful.

Cover the planted seeds with compost. If you composted the soil before planting, you can skip this step. If not, add a thin layer of compost or mulch in the areas where you planted seeds. The compost will help keep weeds out and nourish the seeds.

With proper care, the pumpkin plants should sprout within about a week.

Water the pumpkin plants when the soil moisture is low. Pumpkin plants need a lot of water, but they shouldn't get too much. Make a habit of watering them when the soil seems a little dry, rather than adding more water to wet soil. Deep, infrequent waterings are ideal.

When you do water the plant, use a lot of water and let it soak deep into the soil. Pumpkin plants' roots run several inches or feet down, depending on the stage of growth, and it's important that the water reaches them.

Try not to get water on the pumpkin leaves. This encourages the growth of a fungus called powdery mildew, which can cause the leaves to wither and the plant to die. Water in the morning, rather than at night, so any water that gets on the leaves has time to dry in the sun.

When the pumpkins themselves begin to grow and turn orange, decrease the amount of water you use. Stop watering entirely about a week before you plan to harvest the pumpkins.

Fertilize the pumpkin plants. When the plants first sprout (in about a week or two), adding fertilizer encourages health pumpkin plant growth. Go to your local nursery and ask for a fertilizer you can add to your pumpkin bed.

Control weeds and pests. In order to make sure your plants produce healthy pumpkins, you'll have to monitor them throughout the growing process.

Weed the patch often. Don't let the growth of weeds crowd out the pumpkin plants or absorb the nutrients they need to thrive. Plan to weed a few times a week.

Check the pumpkin leaves and blossoms for beetles, which eat plant tissue and ultimately kill the pumpkin plant. Scrape them off the plant a few times a week.

Mulch around your pumpkins to keep weed pressure down and conserve soil moisture.

Aphids are pests that threaten a lot of garden plants. They can be found on the undersides of the leaves, and if you don't take care of them, they'll kill the plants quickly. Spray them off with water in the morning so the leaves have time to dry.

If necessary, use an organic pesticide to rid your plants of pests. Ask about products at your local nursery.

Check to see if the pumpkins are ready. The pumpkins should be bright orange in colour (depending on the species) with a hard shell. Their stems and often the vine itself should be starting to dry out and wither.

What should I do if I have three plants growing in a container that I'd like to plant in the ground?

Community Answer

Take them out of the pot, gently tease their roots apart, and place each in its own hole. Add nutrients, soil, good organic compost or composted cow manure and water well. Be sure to give the plants plenty of room, they get very big!

Once picked, pumpkins (which can grow prolifically) can be stored outdoors for a long time, or in a cellar if you are in a snowy climate. In a temperate climate, leave pumpkins in sheds, on shed roofs, under sacks etc; in a snowy climate, leave in the basement. They'll feed you all winter through.

Warnings

Pumpkins are prolific growers - they tend to take over their part of the garden. Keep them apart from other plants so that they have lots of room to grow. Wherever a pumpkin starts growing, any plants underneath will be crushed - keep an eye on emerging pumpkins and gently move them and their stalk to a slightly different spot if they are crushing something else. Sometimes they will even crush each other!

About This Article

This article was co-authored by Andrew Carberry. Andrew Carberry has been working with school gardens and farm to school programs since 2008. He is now a Program Associate at Winrock International, where he works on the Community Based Food Systems Team.

If you want to grow a pumpkin, plant your seeds in late spring or early summer. Choose a spot with good soil drainage and full sun, then pat the dirt into a small hill, burying the seed 1 to 2 inches deep in the hill. Cover the hill with a thin layer of compost or mulch and water the pumpkin plants whenever the soil seems a little dry. However, you should avoid getting water on the pumpkin leaves, as this can lead to the growth of mildew. Harvest your pumpkins when they are bright orange with a hard shell.

Reader Success Stories

JW

Johnny Williams

Jun 17, 2016

"Usable and well-presented information for a limited-experience grower. Video is very good-- thanks. I am a writer looking for information to make my young reader story more believable and accurate. Children love pumpkins! I like to grow a few."..." more

DV

David Vaughn, Sr.

Oct 21, 2017

"The article was very helpful. I am test growing pumpkins of different varieties and could have saved myself some problems if I read this article first. The pumpkins was planted July 15, and should have been planted two weeks earlier."..." more

JN

Jay Nello

Jul 14, 2016

"This was the best information I have ever read on growing pumpkins. I have been growing pumpkins for many years. The text and video were informative, and guiding step by step.
Thank you!"..." more

ET

Elay Tan

Sep 28, 2017

"My front west facing lawn is full of weeds. I'm directing the vines toward the whole front lawn since pumpkin plants love the sun. I hope that the pumpkins will eventually crush the weeds."..." more

MJ

Marlene Jennings

Jul 15, 2018

"Just planted my first pumpkins and was unsure whether they needed supports, after checking your video I am well informed and look forward to watching them grow successfully. Thank you."..." more

CB

Carole Brown

Sep 15, 2018

"Our "accidental" pumpkin vine was an after-fall decorating surprise. Your information has helped me to hopefully nurture one or more of them to enjoy this year. Fun!"..." more

CH

Codie Hemsley

May 27, 2016

"This really helped me because I would love to grow and sell pumpkins by Halloween with my dad. We love going out into the garden and growing different plants!"..." more